What started out as a part-time job at the Chester County SPCA (now the Brandywine Valley SPCA) has turned into a career in animal welfare for Karel Minor, president and CEO of Humane Pennsylvania (PA), who recently celebrated his 20th year with the organization.

Minor, who was honored in July with a celebratory luncheon and presented with a 20-year service pin, joined the Humane Society of Berks County in 2004. In 2014, he led the merger of the Humane Society of Berks County and the Humane League of Lancaster County to form Humane PA.

Minor is a graduate of West Chester University, where he received a bachelor's degree in earth and space science. During his 30-plus year career, Minor has served in various positions including operations, education, fundraising and development.

"I was finishing my degree, and my wife suggested that I could fill in my schedule with a part-time job," explained Minor. "I was a part-time adoption counselor at the Chester County SPCA, then stepped into community educator and then operations manager, and that became a full-time job. I then picked up development and fundraising positions, and that became a permanent job."

"I wasn't expecting it to be career, and I am still in it," he added, noting that his family currently has four cats, a baby turtle and three Costa Rican dart frogs. The family recently lost its senior dog, Treetop, a Labrador retriever.

Today, Minor is responsible for the overall operations of Humane PA, which includes the Freedom Center for Animal Life-Saving, 1801 N. 11th St., Reading; the Humane Pennsylvania Lancaster Campus, 2195 Lincoln Highway East; the Humane Veterinary Hospital, 1729 N. 11th St., Reading; the Giorgi Family Community Resource Center, 1350 Schuylkill Ave., Reading, which offers a pet food pantry, vaccines and microchip clinic; and the Danielle Ruiz-Murphy Dog Park, 503 S. Center Road (Route 82), Birdsboro.

"I hire senior-level staff, and I am involved in the process from top to bottom - budgeting, developing programs, how things run and where we should be going in the future," Minor stated. "I do everything and more."

Although his primary office is in Reading, Minor visits the various Humane PA facilities during the week, including the Lancaster campus, which recently opened a new Cat & Critter Adoption Center.

Minor said that he is proud of what he and his team have been able to accomplish through the years, such as no-fee adoption events, the establishment of a pet food pantry and the creation of a nonprofit full-service veterinary practice.

"The first thing was ... fee-waived adoptions. We did it as a test drive in 2004. We only did it for animals which were set for imminent euthanasia," Minor said, noting that the first year, 200 animals were adopted through the program. "We opened it widely to all animals, and it was so successful it won a national award as 'Best Industry Practice.'"

The other two programs that were developed under Minor's leadership are the pet food pantry and the nonprofit veterinary practice. "We started with new things that were considered radical at the time, which are normal operations now," said Minor. "I am proud that we as a team have done things that were true firsts in the industry."

The newest program being offered by Humane Pennsylvania in both Berks and Lancaster counties is Spike & Tilly's Pet Resort, which offers pet boarding for animals, whether they are there for the day, overnight or for an extended time while their families are on vacation. Separate boarding accommodations are available for K-9 officers, pets with special needs and pets requiring emergency boarding through Humane PA's PetNet program. "We recognized there is a need not only for affordable boarding but boarding that could handle dogs with special needs or police dogs. This will change that," Minor said.

Finally, Minor announced that families are encouraged to adopt a new pet during Clear the Shelters Month, a nationwide pet adoption and donation campaign that helps find loving homes for animals in need. This year's event will be celebrated from Saturday, Aug. 10, through Tuesday, Sept. 10.

For more information about the services offered by Humane PA or to view adoptable pets, visit http://www.humanepa.org.